Klavdiya Ivanovna Nikolayeva (russian: Клавдия Ивановна Николаева; 13 June 1893 – 28 December 1944) was a Russian revolutionary, syndicalist, feminist, Old Bolshevik and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

politician.

Early life

The daughter of a Saint Petersburg

labourer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

and a

laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidenced ...

, Nikolayeva worked as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

from an early age. After finishing

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or fir ...

she worked in a printing press, where her activism began. She wrote for the journal ''

Rabotnitsa ''Rabotnitsa'' (russian: Работница; en, The Woman Worker) is a women's journal, published in the Soviet Union and Russia and one of the oldest Russian magazines for women and families. Founded in 1914, and first published on Women's Day ...

'' (''Working Woman''). She was arrested for the first time in 1908, at the age of 15, being arrested three more times by

tsarist Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...

authorities and exiled twice.Зенькович Николай,
НИКОЛАЕВА Клавдия Ивановна
in ''Самые закрытые люди. От Ленина до Горбачева: Энциклопедия биографий'' (2002)

Pre-revolution Bolshevik activism

She became a member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1909, and was a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

, while also engaging in work within the printing

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. While exiled in the village of Kazatchinskoe, in the

Yeniseysky District Yeniseysky District (russian: Енисе́йский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13-3140 district (raion), one of the forty-three in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the west of the krai and borders w ...

, she was appointed head of the local RSDLP committee.Е.А. Борисенко and А.С. Черепанов,
К.И. Николаева
in Проект «Имена 17-го года» (2017)

Revolutionary and politician

After the February Revolution, she returned to Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) and became editor of ''Rabotnitsa'', 'which played crucial role in organizing women and rallying them to Bolshevik Party'.Nikolaeva, Klavdiia (1893–1944)
in ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide'' (Thomson Gale, 2007) She participated in the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. From 1918 she headed the women's section of the Petrograd branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), as well as its department of agitation and propaganda. She chaired the First Conference of Working Women. In 1924 she became head of the

Zhenotdel The Zhenotdel (), the women's department of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), was the section of the Russian Communist party devoted to women's affairs in the 1920s. It gave women in the Russian Revolution ...

(the women's department of the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union), after

Alexandra Kollontai Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (russian: Алекса́ндра Миха́йловна Коллонта́й, née Domontovich, Домонто́вич; – 9 March 1952) was a Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist the ...

and

Sofia Smidovich Sofia Nikolaevna Smidovich (russian: Софья Николаевна Смидович, 24 February 1872 – 24 November 1934) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, feminist and the leader of the Zhenotdel from 1922 to 1924. Early life Smidovich was ...

.K. A. Залесский,
Николаева Клавдия Ивановна
in ''Известия ЦК КПСС'', 7 (306) июнь (1990) She was close to the United Opposition and Grigory Zinoviev, whom she openly supported at the 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). With Zinoviev's failure against

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, she lost her job in the Zhenotdel, but maintained activity within the party. In 1928 she headed the department of agitation and propaganda of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

Committee. From 1930 to 1933, she was a member of the Organisational Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee, heading the department of agitation and mass campaigns.Николаева Клавдия Ивановна
in ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

'' (1979)
also available in English
Following this, she became deputy secretary of the regional committees of the

West Siberian Krai West Siberian Krai (russian: Западно-Сибирский край, Zapadno-Sibirsky Krai) was an early krai of the Russian SFSR, created after the split of the Siberian Krai Siberian Krai (russian: Сибирский край, Sibirsky Kray ...

Party (1933) and Ivanovo Oblast. From 1936 she was secretary of the Central Trade Union Council. She was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1925 and, from 1934, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union; Member of the Supreme Soviet from 1937 to 1944; and member of the Supreme Soviet's Praesidium from 1938 to 1944.

The Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, she organized the preparation of nurses and health personnel, the evacuation of children, sponsorship of

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

units Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * Unit (album), ...

by professional unions, and

paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

al institutions. While returning to

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

from a political visit to the United Kingdom her convoy was bombed by the Germans and Nikolayeva helped rescued the wounded. She died on 28 December 1944. During her life she was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

along with other medals. The urn containing her ashes is kept in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis was the national cemetery for the Soviet Union. Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik individuals who died during the Moscow Bolshevik Uprising were buried in m ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

in Moscow. Klavdiya Nikolaeva Plaque

Works

In addition to her articles in ''The Worker'', Klavdiya Nikolayeva wrote two books on the role of women in the construction and defence of the Soviet Union: * ''The Communist Party and the action among women'' (1925) * ''The Great Patriotic War and the Soviet Woman'' (1941)

References